Trapped
by qt72011
Summary: based partly on MOONLIGHTING, a Jane Austen FanFic written by Ardnaskela, and partly on a dream I had - After being lied to her entire life, Elle accidently discovers the truth about her adoptive Clan, and the reason why she was brought there.


Hi! I'm qt72011. this is my first and probably only story I will ever write, and I doubt if I even finish it. but anyways – This is the story of Elle, a werewolf. Her Clan, or family, was one of the most powerful Clans in northern Canada, where the story is going to take place. Only a month after Elle was born, she was promised to Mattieus, who is 15 years older than she and is the eldest son of his Clan. Not long after that her Clan was attacked by a rival clan, and everyone except her was killed. Mattieus' family takes her in, and raises her, but does not tell her about the engagement. My version of werewolves are pretty much the same as Ardnaskela's version; there does not have to be a full moon and Elle and everyone else can change at will. I give all credit to Ardnaskela, without Moonlighting I would have never had that amazing dream that inspired this story.

My name is Ella Rose, Elle for short, and I am a werewolf. I am the last of my clan, the only surviving member after one of our rival clans massacred my family, years ago. I was only a baby, the youngest of six children. Another clan took me and raised me as their own. My adoptive family has five members – Levi, the head of the family, Clara, his mate, and their three sons, Mattieus, Nathan, and Samuel. I am younger than Samuel is by about 3 years, give or take a couple of months. I am almost seventeen years old, and Mattieus is almost fifteen years older than I am. I was always closer to Samuel, since he was the youngest, and the kindest. Mattieus and Nathan pretty much ignored me throughout my childhood, and my early teen years, until recently.... I guess you could say that their Clan is one of the major, or Alpha clans. My family had been one too, but seeing as I was the only living member... I had a happy childhood. Females are not expected to do much, just grow old enough to get married and have more children. Only a few women have ever broken from this tradition, and very few women even choose whom they marry. Unknown by me, I had been promised to Mattieus two months after I was born. This is one of the reasons I am running. I guess I should tell you the whole story..

In retrospect, I should have seen this coming months before it happened. My friends had slowly started to disappear from my life, practically sold to other clans in a bond of "marriage." I never assumed that would be the case for me, until I found out... Anyways, as I was saying, the number of my friends started to dwindle months before the big event. In addition, Sam was no longer allowed to speak to me or be with me alone. Sam and I have always been close, as we are close in age and he often accompanied me on my walks through the gardens. Now my walks in the gardens are solitary, except for when I am deep in the back unused gardens. Then Nathan comes. Before, Nathan never showed any interest in me, around the time that my friends started to disappear and Samuel was prohibited from seeing me, he began to slowly creep into my life. I began to feel his eyes on me every time we were within close proximity to each other. If I were far away from the house, he would magically appear from the shadows of trees. He did not speak much; he just walked along the trail with me, sometimes asking questions that he already knew the answer to. Then, as we drew closer to the main house again, he would go back the way he came, and disappear into the shadows once more. I thought it was very curios behavior, as at meal times he never spoke but a word to me, and only looked at me ever so often. Mattieus, on the other hand, ignored me completely. At the table, he never asked for my opinions, never inquired as to my thoughts on a subject. I was practically a piece of furniture to him. Or so I thought. Nevertheless, it did not bother me much, seeing as during meals was the only time Samuel was allowed to speak to me now, we conversed on our end of the table, with Clara supervising. Levi sat at the other end with Nathan on his right and Mattieus on his left. Levi also ignored me. It was not always like this, when I was younger, he would come into the schoolroom where Samuel and I would spend the early afternoons with a governess, visiting and talking with us. However, as I got older, he spent less time with me, and then ignored me completely. I guess they began to think of me as a simple-minded chit, pliable to their every whim. It was close to my birthday when I finally realized what was happening. It was why I began running.

As I said, it was a normal November night. On edge for some unknown reason, I rose from my bed and but a dressing gown on. I quietly unlocked my bedroom door (they lock it from the outside, "to keep me safe" they said.) and slipped out into the hallway. My quarters are in a separate wing of the house from everyone else's, and not as accessible. I crept down the empty corridor, reaching the top of the stairs. Skipping the first step down, missing the squeak, and maneuvered my way down like an expert, avoiding the loud noises certain steps omit. Halfway down the staircase, I heard raised voices. I stopped, ducked down further into the shadows, and listened.

"If I see you approach her again –"

"-You'll do what, glare me down? You won't do a thing. You're too weak to do anything."

"She's my betrothed; get that through your head. You have no claim to her, whatever you might think –"

"You ignore her constantly, as if she were just a scullery maid or hired help. You do not know her, or even care to know her-"

"That's none of your concern. I know her enough, and I needn't know her to marry her. You need to get any stupid romantic inclination about her out of your head or it'll cost you-"

"You're just using her as a tool to get higher in the pack. That's all she is to you, nothing but a free pass into-"

There was a larger clatter, and –

"You do not know my intentions, little brother. Nor will you ever. I am not the weakling I once was, and never will be again. And by the Gods, if you touch Elle I'll kill you."

I sunk down to the ground in shock. I could not figure out what was worse – being engaged unknowingly to Mattieus, or the fact that they were fighting over me. But why?

"Father is ignorant of your little escapades in the gardens, Nathan, but he doesn't have to be. You will not touch what is mine, starting from here on out. You will not talk with her, visit her; if I even see so much as a glance in her direction, I will not hesitate to hurt you. Am I clear?"

"Yes brother, for now. However, I do have one question: How do you think Elle will react when she finds out she is betrothed to you? Do you seriously think she will be happy with the choice her parents made for her?"

"She doesn't have to be happy about it. Her opinion on the matter is inconsequential. She will marry me."

I covered my mouth to keep from being heard, tears streaming down my face. Did my opinion matter so little to everyone? Was I to be forced into a marriage with someone who does not even want to take the time to know me? My feelings on the matter, or any matter it seemed, were as unimportant as I felt.

I was not so lost in my misery that I did not notice the door to the study, where the whole thing had taken place, open. Nathan emerged, and I cowered back into the shadows, knowing he could see me with superior vision that all wolves of the clan, but praying he wouldn't. My prayers were answered it seemed, as I watched Nathan's handsome face turn and look at the perimeter of the room, taking no notice to my partially dark corner on the stairs above him. As I watched him from my hiding place, I took notice once again of his handsome features. As a werewolf, he naturally had dark brown, almost black hair. He had a straight nose to go along with his chiseled features, and calculating grey eyes. Most werewolves have brown eyes, but a few clans, including my adoptive clan and my own, have different colors. My green eyes were an even bigger novelty than Nathan's family's grey eyes, and I was the only one of my kind so far. We all as werewolves had unnaturally pale skin, but the men's were tanned slightly by their time spent in the sunlight. Time that was not afforded to most women.

I watched as Nathan swiftly exited the study and walked down the hall briskly to his own quarters. I did not wait for Mattieus to come out; I fled up the stairs and through the maze of back hallways, using the servant's stair to reach Sam's room. Making sure there was no one within sight, I knocked on Samuel's door in a rhythm that only he and I knew. I had visited him at late hours before you see, since we were children. We would talk for hours about everything, sometimes playing card games and having midnight feasts, but mostly we just talked. I had not visited in months though, considering the fact that if anyone in the house found out about these late night adventures they would most certainly not be pleased. But tonight I had to get some answers.

Sam was slower than usual at opening his door, and I nervously looked around as he hurried to unlock it.

"Sam! Please hurry!" I whispered, throwing glances down the hall to Nathan and Mattieus' rooms. I had never been fearful of being caught before, but now anything could happen. Sam finally stopped fiddling with the lock (the brothers were allowed to lock their doors from inside, a novelty I had not been given) and he swung open the door. One look on my face and he seemed to understand my alarm.

"Hurry!" he but half whispered, throwing worried looks down the hall. I complied and swiftly stepped into his room. He closed the door behind me after a moment of making sure the coast was clear, and turned to me.

"So you know, now. You know that you are engaged to my brother, and that this is the reason why you and I are no longer allowed to associate."

I took in his features a minute before I answered. He had the same eyes as the rest of his family, but they were softer, kinder in a way. His face was more rounded than either of his brother's, and he was not as built. Pushing those thoughts aside, I quickly told him of what I had seen and heard. He did not look surprised.

"How long have you known?" I asked. "How long have you known that I would be handed over like baggage to him? How long have you known that I would be forced into this?"

He looked regretful. Sad, almost. "Not as long as you think I have. Even when Mattieus warned me to stay away from you, I did not put the pieces together. I just thought that he was doing Father's bidding. I didn't understand why, until Nathan pulled me aside one morning before everyone else woke."

"Nathan," I said, realization dawning on me. "How long has Nathan known?"

Samuel shrugged, a habit he had retained from his childhood. "Since we were kids, apparently. Nathan said that it had been your parents wish to see you married to one of the three brothers. The obvious pick would be Mattieus, the eldest. You have been engaged to him since birth.

"What, and no one thought to tell me?" I asked, beginning to grow angry. This was my future they just ruined! "Mattieus is almost old enough to be my father! Why in the world –"

Sam hurried towards me and covered my mouth. He looked at the door, his eyes frantic, and I knew my mistake. After a few moments, he slowly took his hand away.

"You need to keep your voice down. If you were discovered in here, by either of them, especially now –"

"They would hurt you. Yes, I've heard." I said bitterly, but I kept my voice down. "I overheard them fighting over me a little while ago. Sam, I do not understand at all. Why is marriage to me so important? Mattieus does not care for me, as Nathan accused, but Nathan does not particularly care for me either.

"From what Nathan told me, Mattieus only wants the marriage for social climbing reasons."

I nodded my head in confirmation. "Yes, he implied that."

Sam went on "You are the last living member of your clan. Moreover, by uniting your clan and ours, the outcome would be very great indeed. That is why Mattieus has no objection to the union. Nathan, on the other hand, does not look to marriage with you as a business deal. He is deeply in love with you, Elle."

He silenced my protests

"Have you not noticed his glances? Surely, he has approached you sometime, or Mattieus would never have reprimanded him for it."

The look on my face was enough answer for him. "If it is not love, it is lust, and an obsession with having something he cannot have. By law, you belong to Mattieus, and as soon as you turn seventeen Mattieus will put that into effect."

"But can't we do something, or talk to someone-"

He silenced me. "There's nothing Elle, that we could do. If Nathan continues his pursuit, Mattieus will most likely have him killed. It would be perfectly legal. Once you come of age, you belong to Mattieus."

I wanted to scream. I wanted to burst into tears. I would be married Mattieus, no matter what my feelings were, and if Nathan did not stop he would die. There wasn't anything I could do.


End file.
